Finnish Spitz

The Finnish Spitz is Finland's national dog. It is popular in Scandinavia as both a hunter (mainly of birds) and a show dog. It also has devotees in the United Kingdom, where it is kept mainly as a pet and show dog. It is a beautiful animal with the habit of cleaning itself like a cat.

The Finnish Spitz can be delicate to raise, but will grow into beautiful pets or show dogs.

Origin and history

The Spitz was known for centuries in its own country prior to official recognition, when the Finnish Kennel Club gained acceptance by the FCI. It originates from the eastern zone of Finland and is mentioned in the country's epic the Kalevala. Called the 'Finkie' by Lady Kitty Ritson, who pioneered the breed in the United Kingdom in the 1920s, it is related to the Russian Laika breed, a member of which was to orbit the Earth in an early space flight. It is a descendant of the earliest hunter dogs of Lapland and Scandinavia.

Finnish Spitz Puppies

Good points

• Beautiful
• Brave
• Excellent guard/house-dog
• Faithful
• Good with children
• Hunter
• Home-loving
• Sociable

Take heed

• No drawbacks known

Size

Height: dog 17112in (44.5cm), bitch 15112in (39.5cm).

Exercises

This is a real outdoor dog that likes to run free whenever possible. However, it also relishes its place by the fireside, so it should not be kept kennelled.

Finnish Spitz Information

Health care

Although a hardy, healthy dog in adulthood, it can prove delicate as a pup, and this Spitz type is not the easiest to breed.

General appearance
Body almost square. Bearing bold. The whole appearance, and particularly the eyes, ears and tail, indicates liveliness.

Colour
On the back, reddish­brown or yellowish-red, preferably bright. The hairs on the inner sides of the ears, on the cheeks, under the muzzle, on the breast and abdomen, inside the legs, at the back of the thighs and under the tail are of a lighter shade. White markings on feet and a narrow white stripe on the breast can be permitted, also some black hairs on the lips and sparse separate hairs with black points along the back.

Head and skull
Medium sized and clean cut, forehead slightly arched, stop pronounced. Muzzle narrow and clean cut, seen from above; from the sides, evenly tapering. Nose should be piteh black. Lips tightly closed anld-thin.

Tail
Curves vigorously from its root in an arch, forward, downward and backward, then pressing down against the thigh with its tip extending to the middle part of the thigh. Extended, the tail vertebrae usually reach to the hock joint.

Feet
Preferably roundish.

Finnish Spitz Feeding & Grooming

Grooming

Normal frequent brushing will keep the coat clean and handsome.

Feeding

Recommended would be 13-200z (369-587g) of a branded, meaty product with biscuit added in equal part by volume, or 13/4-3 cupfuls of a dry food, complete diet, mixed in the proportion of 1 cup of feed to 1/2 cup of hot or cold water.

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